Despite the recent attempt of the government to reign in the amount of antipsychotic medication that nursing homes received, recent studies have found that in 2008, antipsychotics still represented 9 percent of all prescriptions in this group.

According to an article on MSN Health,

Anti-psychotics, developed to treat psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are widely used “off label” to control difficult behavior in elderly people with dementia.

Indeed, Dorsey said he suspects that the vast majority of the use documented in his research is “off label.”

In the United States, no anti-psychotics are approved to calm behavior, although one such drug, risperidone (Risperdal), is approved for that indication in Canada. Black box warnings are rare for off-label use.

This class of “atypical anti-psychotics” includes Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel and Zyprexa.

The problem is that the only medications that have been shown to help sway these behavioral problems are antipsychotics, and even though the side effects may not affect some patients, some patients experience significant problems.

In 2005 the FDA had issued warnings and since there has been a noticeable drop in over prescribing.  The declines were evident within one month of the warning and  by 2008, antipsychotic use among this older population decreased more than 50 percent.

However, it’s not clear if that drop is enough, or if the drugs are still being over prescribed and over used for off label uses, leaving the elderly still at risk to experience unnecessary side affects.

Over all, the study found that “If you enter a nursing home that has a higher proportion of people on antipsychotics, you are also likely to be put on antipsychotics.” So be aware of this if you or a loved one is thinking of staying at a nursing home.

Antipsychotic medications are more prevalent now than ever since there introduction in the 1950’s. These medications are used to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and give those who suffer from the illness back their lives. The only problem is that like with all drugs, antipsychotic’s can be very costly.

The most popular antipsychotic’s are risperidone (Risperdal), aripiprazole (Abilify), quetiapine (Seroquel), and olanzapine (Zyprexa). Paying for these medications out of pockets can cost anywhere from $300 to $500 dollars for 90 pills. Luckily, you can get them here for much cheaper.

Risperdal 1mg 100 pills for $46.00
Abilify 5mg 100 pills for $64.00
Seroquel 25mg 100 pills for $54.00
Zyprexa 5mg 100 pills for $61.56

Although Freebee Foreign Pharmacies prices on all antipsychotic drugs are drastically cheaper than anywhere online, the cheapest popular brand is Seroquel. Remember, cheapest is not  necessarily the best, as each different type of medication affects patients differently. Your doctor will be able to work and figure out which medication is right for you.

No matter which medication you use, there is absolutely no reason why you should be paying the outrageous, inflated prices out of pocket for from your local pharmacy. Join Freebee Foreign Pharmacy today.

Ah, the corner pharmacy. It’s been there for years, it’s just a short drive down the road, and the pharmacists are always so friendly, aren’t they?

I hate to break it to you, but behind those smiling faces at the counter, your corner pharmacy is hiding something from you. Specifically, its prices.

Jacob Milbradt, a pharmacist who blogs, has been writing about the fact that pharmacies often make big — even outrageous — profits on generic medications. The reasons for this include (1) that most people don’t comparison shop among their neighborhood pharmacies; and (2) that people assume that if a pharmacy is inexpensive for one drug, it’s probably relatively inexpensive across the board.

Take Wal-Mart, for example. With all the attention Wal-Mart has received for its $4 generics program, many consumers just assume that Wal-Mart is always going to give them a low price on their prescriptions.

But when Jacob did some comparison shopping for the generic form of Risperdal, he found extreme variations in pricing — and look who was overcharging the most for 90 1mg tablets:

Wal-Mart: $403.54
Rite Aid: $368.99
Albertsons: $337.00
CVS: $305.00
Safeway: $173.06
Sams: $126.68
Costco: $116.44

Notes Jacob:

Sams is charging about 30% of Wal-Mart’s price. Sams [owned by Wal-Mart] and Wal-Mart are obviously paying the same amount for this medication . . . yet Wal-Mart is charging an additional $275 compared to Sams.

The pharmacist, who has done this kind of price comparison for many drugs on his blog, generally finding the same wide price variations, laments that buyers must think twice before trusting their corner pharmacy:

People TRUST their pharmacist and pharmacy not to rip them off. Yet that’s exactly what happens every day throughout the nation. When it comes to managing your prescription costs, you have to realize that nearly every other entity only has their own interests in mind. Everyone’s looking out for #1 . . . and you’re left to foot the bill.

So always comparison shop when purchasing prescription drugs. You can save even more money by including Canadian pharmacies in your search.

Last week, the FDA approved the new antipsychotic drug Saphris for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults. Saphris is one of a class of brand-name drugs called “atypical antipsychotics” that includes Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel and Zyprexa.

These “atypical antipsychotics” are distinguished from older, “typical antipsychotics” that include perphenazine, loxapine, haloperidol, thiothixene, and fluphenazine. All of these drugs have long been available as low-cost generics.

And last year, the first generic atypical antipsychotic — a generic version of Risperdal (risperidone) — hit the market, too. The price for risperidone has dropped dramatically in the past year … although your corner pharmacy isn’t necessarily passing along those savings.

For example, a pharmacist blogger did some research and found that while brand-name Risperdal goes for around $500 for 90 1mg tablets, pharmacies he called quoted him anywhere from $126.68 to $410 for the generic equivalent. He noted that many pharmacies cited the higher brand-name price first, so any generic price would sound good by comparison.

So is your best bet a brand-name antipsychotic, generic risperidone, or one of the older antipsychotic drugs?

Well, let’s compare the newest drug to hit the market — Saphris — with risperidone. According to reports:

In clinical trials with schizophrenia patients, Saphris was effective and well tolerated. Although Saphris demonstrated lower efficacy on positive symptoms than [risperidone] … Schering-Plough’s drug presented fewer adverse events than other atypical antipsychotics and some improvements on negative and cognitive symptoms compared to [risperidone]. However, Saphris’s twice-daily dosing regimen may be perceived to be inconvenient in the light of several other once daily options.

So it looks like a trade-off. The FDA, in announcing its approval of the drug, would only say that Saphris worked better than a placebo. We’ll have to see over time if Saphris proves to be worth paying brand-name prices.

My guess is that in most cases — or at least an increasing number of cases — doctors and psychiatrists are prescribing Risperdal first, and then the pharmacy is filling it as a generic, either as required by the insurance provider or at the customer’s request. While doctors like to have a variety of medications to choose from since all patients react differently, the brand-name antipsychotics face a declining market.

As for the older, “typical” antipsychotics, recent research indicates that they in many cases are similar in effectiveness to the newer drugs.

Bottom line: When you talk with your doctor or psychiatrist about antipsychotic medications, be sure to understand why he recommends a specific drug. Some doctors like to start their patients out on a typical antipsychotic first and move on to an atypical antipsychotic only if the initial treatments fail. But most today go straight to the atypicals. If you are concerned about cost, share this with your doctor so he can take this into account in making a recommendation.